Gun-type toothbrush



United States Patent GUN-TYPE TOOTHBRUSH Erin Nugent, West Redding,Conn. Application February 21, 1955, Serial No. 489,405 Claims. (Cl.15-184) This invention relates to brushes, and more particularly to aretractible and extendable brush.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a brush, as forexample, a toothbrush which, because of its unique construction, willstimulate the desire of children for brushing teeth.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a toothbrushwhose bristles are able to be concealed when not in use so that theywill not be exposed to dirt.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide atoothbrush having the desired advantages which is neverthelesseconomical to manufacture and simple to produce.

Other objects and advantages are set forth in greater detail in theaccompanying specification taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a partially sectioned side view of the toothbrush of thepresent invention with the brush in retracted position;

Fig. 2 is a partial sectioned side view of the toothbrush of the presentinvention with the brush in extended position; and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a retractible and extendabletoothbrush consisting of a holder 11 having a bore 12. A plunger 13 iscarried within the bore. Bristles comprising a brush 14 are disposed atone end of the plunger. The wall of the bore is provided with laterallyextending holes 15 and 16, the hole 16 being spaced slightly to the rearof the bristles 14 as seen in Fig. 1 and the hole 15 being adjacent therear end of the plunger 13 as viewed in this figure. The plunger has arecess 17 of substantially the same diameter as the holes 15 and 16 forthe purposes hereinafter set forth. A coil spring 18 is secured to therear of the bore and adapted to engage the end 19 of the plunger. Abutton 29 having a sloping, rearwardly-facing cam surface is disposedwithin the recess 17 of the plunger and is normally urged outward of theopening 15 in the bore by a coil spring 21. A longitudinal groove 22 isprovided between the holes 15 and 16. The forward end of the holder isprovided with a tapered portion 23. A movable housing 24 is securedabove the tapered portion 23 and is normally urged downwardly about thepivot 25 by means of the coil spring 25a. A handle or laterallyextending grip 26 is provided as shown, having a finger opening 27. Alever 28 is provided having a trigger 29 at one end thereof extendingwithin the finger opening. The other end of the lever 30 abuts the baseof the button 20, as shown.

The toothbrush in retracted position, shown in Fig. 1, is maintained insuch position by the engagement of the forward end of the button withthe forward side of the hole 15. The button is normally urged into suchposition by the coil spring 21. The housing 24 rests against the top ofthe bristles 14 concealing the brush portion of the toothbrush. In orderto extend the toothbrush for use, the laterally extending grip 26 isheld by the palm of the hand, and the trigger 29 is urged in thedirection of the arrow by finger pressure through the finger opening 27.This action will cause the other end of the lever 30 to urge the buttoninto the recess 17 against the action of the spring 21 allowing thespring 18 to urge the plunger 13 forwardly with the base of the buttonriding in the groove 22. When the button reaches the hole 16, the actionof the coil spring 21 will urge said button outwardly and preventfurther forward movement of the plunger 13 carrying the bristles 14. Thebrush portion 14 is in this position outside of the holder 11. Thehousing 24 is urged downwardly around the pivot 25 by the action of thecoil spring 25a to close the forward end of the holder and to get thatportion of the holder nearest the toothbrush out of the way so that itdoes not contact the mouth of the user. The toothbrush may be used forthe cleaning of teeth in this position.

In order to retract the bristles and return them to their originalposition, the housing 24 is urged upwardly by pressing the finger piece31. The plunger is urged rearwardly and the sloping rear surface of thebutton permits the latter to easily retract from the hole 16 and passinto the groove 22. The plunger is then urged further rearwardly againstthe action of the spring 18 toa position where the button again projectsinto hole 15 wherein it is locked maintaining the plunger in retractedposition. The brush portion 14 is concealed within the housing 24 inthis position.

It will be understood that While the invention has been described insome detail, variations and modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A retractible and extendable toothbrush comprising a holder having abore; a plunger slidable in said bore between extended and retractedposition, said plunger having bristles on its outermost end portionconstituting a brush; spring means for shifting the plunger to extendedposition; means including a detent member movably'carried by the plungerfor locking the same in retracted position; and means including a levercarried by the holder for shifting said detent member to unlock theplunger and enable the spring means to project the plunger from theholder, said detent member having a sloping, rearwardly-facing camsurface and said holder having a shoulder engageable with the camsurface when the plunger is extended, thereby to provide a yieldabledetent.

2. A retractible and extendable toothbrush comprising a holder having abore; a plunger slidable in said bore between extended and retractedposition, said plunger having bristles on its outermost end portionconstituting a brush; spring means for shifting the plunger to extendedposition; means including a detent member movably carried by the plungerfor locking the same in retracted position; said holder having alaterally extending grip portion, a finger opening in said grip portion,and a lever in said opening and carried by said holder for shifting saiddetent member to unlock the plunger and enable the spring means toproject the plunger from the holder, said detent member having asloping, rearwardly-facing cam surface and said holder having a shoulderengageable with the cam surface when the plunger'is extended, thereby toprovide a yieldable detent.

3. A retractible and extendable toothbrush comprising a holder having abore; a plunger slidable in said bore between extended and retractedposition, said plunger having bristles on its outermost end portionconstituting a brush; spring means for shifting the plunger to extendedposition; a spring charged detent button movably carried by the plungerfor locking the same in retracted posi tion; and means including a levercarried by the holder for shifting said spring charged detent button tounlock the plunger and enable the spring means to project the plungerfrom the holder, said button having a" sloping, rearwardly-facing camsurface and said holder having a shoulder engageable with the camsurface when the plunger is extended, thereby toprovide a yieldabl'edetent.

4. A retractible and extendable toothbrush comprising a holder having abore; a plunger slidable in said bore between extended and retractedposition, said plunger having bristles on its outermost end portionconstituting a brush; spring means for shifting the plunger to extendedposition; means including a detent member movably carried by the plungerfor locking the same in retracted position; a pivoted housing at one endof said handle adapted to overlay said bristles; and means including alever carried by the holder for shifting said detent memher to unlockthe plunger and enable the spring means to project the bristles fromsaid pivoted housing, said detent member having a sloping,rearwardly-facing cam surface and said holder having a shoulderengageable with the cam surface when the plunger is extended, thereby toprovide a yieldable detent.

5. A retractible and extendable toothbrush comprising a holder having abore; a plunger slidable in said bore between extended and retractedposition, said plunger having bristles on its outermost end portionconstituting a brush; spring means for shifting the plunger to extendedposition, said bore having two laterally extending holes in its wall, alongitudinal groove in said wall extending between said two holes; aspring biased detent button movably carried by said plunger and normallyurged into one of said holes for locking the plunger in retractedposition; a pivoted housing at one end of said holder adapted to overlaysaid bristles; said holder having a laterally extending grip portion, afinger opening in said grip portion, and a lever in said opening andcarried by said holder for shifting said spring biased detent button andenabling the button to move along said groove into the other of saidholes whereby the bristles are projected from said housing, said detentbutton having a sloping, rearwardlyfacing cam' surface and said holderhaving a rear wall at said other hole engageable with the cam surfacewhen the plunger is extended, thereby to provide a yieldable detent.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.175,198 Tasner et al July 19, 1955 380,080 Bouton et al Mar. 27, 18881,103,879 Hofiman July 14, 1914 1,259,603 Conord Mar. 19, 1918 2,544,130Boothroyd Mar. 6, 1951 2,637,869 Tomlinson May 12, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS8 2,647 Austria Feb. 10, 1921

